Loss in last game sums up season
OTAGO Volts coach Rob Walter wants to see his contract out and is already talking about next season.
The Volts ended their season on a low note yesterday with a 95run loss to Canterbury at the University Oval.
Chasing a target of 266, no player scored a halfcentury and the side lost three wickets early on.
Walter said the loss summed up the season in some ways.
‘‘Today we just did not have that person who was prepared to face 200 balls like one of their guys was. That has been pretty much the story of our batting the whole season.
‘‘If you get any, you have to convert. And convert is pushing into hundreds, not 60 or 70. I reckon at the end of the day, we could score 260 there. We should have been able to get 260. We just lacked application. There is just no excuse for that.’’
Otago ended the Plunket Shield with two wins from 10 games. It finished fifth, one point behind Northern Districts and 15 points clear of lastplaced Canterbury.
Walter said the side had let itself down in the batting department.
‘‘We have lacked that application in fourday cricket the entire year and again today that was the case.
‘‘We have just been close all season . . . To walk away with just two victories is frustrating. From a bowling point of view it has been massively positive.’’
‘‘When we had the opportunities to win games we just did not step up with the bat. That is the reality. There are not many
times in the season we could lay the blame in the ball department. You walk away from the firstclass season with just three hundreds, you know you have not had a great firstclass season. Last year we had 10. Last year we probably weren’t as good with the ball so it has sort of flipped.’’
Walter said it had been tough as a coach but that was what came with the job.
‘‘No coach will enjoy losing, that is for sure. Losing and winning is only one part of the gig. That is what you get judged on. But if we get caught up focusing too much on that and not understanding on what we did well then all is lost.
‘‘As I said there is some good stuff to be positive about. Some recurring things that happened along the way that we certainly need to delve into if we want to have any chance of improving.
‘‘But from a personal point of view, obviously highly disappointed with the way the season went.’’
Walter said the side had done a huge amount of preparation to be successful but it just did not happen.
The team would carry out the usual reviews but Walter was keen to get the focus on to next season already.
‘‘A lot of the guys have asked to not have too much time off. To keep ticking over and working on the things that we need to be working on. It is naive to think we can start on the first of September and nail down what we want to in the first game. It is going to require a lot more than that.’’
He has another year on his contract — he is employed by New Zealand Cricket — and is keen to see out the job.
Rob Nicol did not bat in the second innings after he broke his little finger in the first innings. Warren Barnes, in just his second firstclass game grabbed nine wickets, coming in for Jacob Duffy, who had the flu.
SYDNEY: David Warner hopes to become a ‘‘better teammate and role model’’ after accepting the 12month ban handed to him by Cricket Australia, meaning there will be no appeals over the balltampering scandal.
Warner joined sacked skipper Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft yesterday in opting not to challenge the suspensions imposed for bringing the game into disrepute during the Cape Town test.
‘‘I have today let Cricket Australia know that I fully accept the sanctions imposed on me. I am truly sorry for my actions and will now do everything I can to be a better person, team mate and role model,’’
Warner tweeted.
The former vicecaptain had been mulling over his decision whether to appeal since taking to social media after his Saturdaymorning media conference to confirm he was seeking advice on the matter.
The disgraced opener had the most at stake, after admitting he was ‘‘resigned to the fact’’ he might never play for Australia again after being identified as the mastermind of the tampering plans.
CA’s code of conduct, under which the banned trio were found to have brought the game into disrepute, had left Warner with until the day before next Wednesday’s potential hearing to confirm his position.
Many suspected he would challenge the yearlong suspension.
But the 31yearold’s decision not to, and his pledge to be a ‘‘better teammate’’, confirms he will play on rather than retire, another option he said he would consider.
Warner’s decision closes the page on one of the ugliest chapters in Australian cricket history and will come as a huge relief for CA.
The prospect of the saga dragging on further with appeals would not have been a good look for the governing body.
Smith’s response on Wednesday came earlier than expected and has done much to maintain the swell of public support he won after his gutwrenching media conference last Thursday on arrival back in Sydney.
Smith, Warner and Bancroft could head for England’s county system, with CA not expected to stand in their way. — AAP